As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Saturday, 31 May 2014

GANDHINAGAR: Finally, there seem to be some serious efforts in saving the Great Indian Bustard that is on the brink of extinction.

A conservation and breeding centre for the bird is all set to be established in Kutch.

Sources said that the project is being finalized as a joint initiative between the Central and the state governments. "The Centre came up with the offer for setting up the centre in Kutch to which we have given our consent," said a senior official of the forest department.

The Great Indian Bustard is categorized as a critically endangered species of the birds that is on the verge of extinction. "Its number in Gujarat was 48 in the census that was carried out in 2007. The bird is also sighted in patches of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra and Rajasthan accounts for almost 50 per cent of its population in the country while Gujarat houses their second highest number," said Devesh Gadhvi, an expert working with Kutch Ecological Research Centre.

WELLINGTON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand has more threatened seabird species than anywhere else in the world and planned deepwater oil and gas drilling could drive them to extinction, a leading conservation group warned Monday.

The Forest and Bird group issued the warning with the release of a report on important bird areas (IBAs) for New Zealand seabirds, part of a global effort to identify marine IBAs and ensure protection.

More than a third of the world's seabird species lived at least part of their lives in 69 IBAs New Zealand's territorial seas and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters, Forest and Bird seabird advocate Karen Baird said in a statement.

"New Zealand also has more seabird species that breed only within its jurisdiction than any other country in the world. We have 36 species. Mexico is next on the list, with only five species," said Baird.

Fifty new homes are ready and waiting for our endangered national bird, the cahow. The artificial nest boxes were donated to the cahow recovery programme by the Bermuda Audubon Society.

The nest boxes were designed by former conservation officer Dr. David Wingate, who worked with cahows for 50 years. “Cahows are soil-burrowing birds and in pre-colonial times they would have dug their own burrows, but for hundreds of years they had to survive on rocky little islands where that was impossible,” he explained. “As the numbers increased under the restoration programme, we started building artificial burrows out of cement, which was labourious, back-breaking work. I saw the need for a mass-produceable surrogate which was durable, light and compact enough to transport to remote locations.” Conservation Officer Jeremy Madeiros tried some artificial burrows from Australia, but they were designed for a smaller petrel and were not ideal for the cahow, so Dr. Wingate decided to design his own. “These meet all the requirements of our picky national bird – a long, curved tunnel and a nest chamber that is in total darkness.”

Efforts to eradicate invasive species increasingly occur side by side with programs focused on recovery of endangered ones. But what should resource managers do when the eradication of an invasive species threatens an endangered species? In a new study, scientists examine that conundrum now taking place in the San Francisco Bay.

The Society for Conservation of Nature, Tiruchi, has appealed to the State government to take steps to declare Mavadikulam near Ponmalaipatti in the city as a ‘conservation reserve’ as many bird species are found in the tank.

An initiative taken to revive the heavily silted up tank through a public initiative, which saw the participation of several voluntary organisations and later the district and civic authorities, last year had succeeded in desilting and cleaning up the tank to some extent. The tank spread over 143 acres but had been reduced a shallow water body over the years and also been heavily encroached upon.

With the availability of some water now, many water birds could be sighted at the tank. “We could find about 30 species of birds in the tank. I even sighted garganey ducks, a migratory bird from Europe, and several other local migratory birds,” said V.Sundararaju, former district forest officer and president, Society for Conservation of Nature, Tiruchi. Spot-billed pelicans, spoonbills, painted storks, black winged stilts, spot-billed ducks, purple heron, grey heron, egrets and white breasted kingfisher are among the birds that could be sighted at the tank, he said.

Apart from unrestricted cattle grazing, there is also some poaching going on. Besides, drainages continue to flow into the tank. If it was declared as a conservation reserve, a management committee could be formed for better management of the tank, Mr.Sundararaju said and added that he has already requested the Forest Department to moot a proposal in this regard.

Friday, 30 May 2014

KASKI, MAY 26 - Researchers have found nests of the pied thrush, an endangered bird species, in the (ACAP).

Parash Bikram Singh, conservation officer of the ACAP, and his assistant Srijan Gyawali said they found nests of the bird during their study some days ago in Ghandruk and Chhomrong, located 2,200 meters above from the sea level. With the onset of the summer season, the bird mostly found in Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka migrates to Nepal. The researchers said efforts are under way to enlist the bird as endangered one as they said the number of the bird species is decreasing due to habitat destruction.

“The bird is at risk due to habitat destruction. The ACAP is its suitable habitat,” said Singh, adding that the birds migrate to Nepal to hatch its eggs. Pied thrush lays eggs in areas above 1,500 to 2,500 meters from the sea.

From one of the world’s largest ruff aviaries perched atop Burnaby mountain, SFU researcher David Lank has come across a crucial discovery that genetics — not environmental factors — drive courtship and mating practices in these unique birds.

Lank, an SFU research associate and adjunct professor of biological sciences, has spent three decades studying the unique mating patterns of the male ruff bird, a type of sandpiper originally from Finland. These birds, bred by Lank in the aviaries at SFU, are the only known ruffs in North America.

Lank was originally drawn to these birds because of the mating patterns specific to their species. The males are unique in that they belong to one of three distinct groups, each with their own behavioural patterns in regards to mating. However, unlike most animals, these differences in mating are not a result of their environment, nor a result of different stages of development. Instead, they are a result of genetic variants in the three types of the male ruff birds.

Using computer vision and machine learning techniques, researchers have developed Birdsnap, a free new iPhone app that's an electronic field guide featuring 500 of the most common North American bird species. The app enables users to identify bird species through uploaded photos, and accompanies a comprehensive website.

Birds come in astounding variety -- from hummingbirds to emus -- and behave in myriad ways: they soar the skies, swim the waters, and forage the forests. But this wasn’t always the case, according to new research.

Thursday, 29 May 2014

There are only 13 pairs of these once-common woodpeckers left in the entire state.

Posted: Tuesday, May 27, 2014 11:10 pm

By Rex Springston | Richmond Times-Dispatch

WAVERLY — Flopping around on a towel on the floor of a pine forest, a tiny chick represented hope — if hope can be blind, pink and naked.

This object of optimism, no more than a blob with a beak, was a baby red-cockaded woodpecker, one of the rarest and most peculiar birds in Virginia.

Using climbing gear and an aluminum ladder that he stacked in three 10-foot sections, biologist Bryan Watts had reached the chick’s nest hole in an old-growth pine and extracted the bird with a snarelike tool.

Another biologist, Mike Wilson, put a series of leg bands on the 7-day-old chick. The scientists band the woodpeckers to identify individual birds and learn more about their habits in an effort to build the Virginia population.

“Hope for the future, that’s what you’ve got there,” Watts said.

There are just 13 pairs of these once-common woodpeckers in Virginia, all here in a Sussex County preserve about 55 miles southeast of Richmond.

The work of Watts, Wilson and others is part of an effort to bring back not just a little bird most people will never see but also to restore its majestic wild home — open, parklike pine savannas that once defined Eastern coastal regions but that, like the bird, have been devastated by human actions.

This show will give visitors the rare chance to experience birds in many different ways and through every possible medium: through art and taxidermy, sculpture and fashion, archaeology and photography: beautiful bird-inspired artefacts ancient and modern. The unusual juxtapositions are probably the most unique thing about this exhibition.

You will see a dazzling kaleidoscope of birds, whether portrayed in historical works by Hans Holbein, Andrea Mantegna, JMW Turner, John James Audubon, Samuel Palmer, Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso, or in recent and contemporary works by artists such as Sir Peter Scott, Frank Southgate, JC Harrison, Robert Gillmor, Guy Taplin and Maggi Hambling, many of whom were inspired by the birds and habitats of East Anglia.

We hope that our show, in its small way, will echo the infinite variety and beauty of birds to be seen in the world, and illustrate the many roles they fulfil.

We aim to convey a simple, important message: the fascination for birds transcends national and historical boundaries. The love of birds connects an anonymous Babylonian sculptor of 2000 BC, a seventeenth century Indian Emperor, and the photographer who lost an eye getting the perfect shot of a tawny owl in 1930s Britain!

We’re aiming for this show to contain something for everyone. If you know nothing about birds you will be amazed at how much there is to find out about and enjoy – you will see how birds appear in so many different areas of life. If you already know about birds, come and learn more. You will no doubt meet some familiar faces but hopefully should find some unusual new things too.

“Birds are the most vivid reflection of life” - this is a quote by an American ornithologist, Roger Tory Peterson (1908-96). He’s not mentioned in our show (we can’t include everyone) but this quote has always struck me as one very important reason why birds are so fascinating to so many people…

Their king Prasutagus was a Roman citizen, and they were keen to share his sophisticated Romanised tastes, even after former trading partners arrived with an army.

The resulting copper alloy and tin vessels bore classic Roman bodies on elegant pedestals. But the fusion with Celtic creativity was shown by what was roosting on the handles.

Model ducks, with incised feathering and eyes of red enamel, were unknown in the Roman world and were in fact unique to Norfolk.

Then such tastes fell suddenly and fatally out of fashion. With the king dead, the Romans claimed that half of the Iceni kingdom the late ruler hadn’t chosen to leave them – flogging his widow, raping his daughters and grabbing all the land.

COURIER staff have enjoyed their own special delivery – after a pair of Blue Tits nested in their ashtray.

Now staff at Eagle Couriers have been banned from using the outdoor cigarette bin while the tiny, protected birds nurse a clutch of eggs.

Delighted staff at Scotland’s biggest independent courier company are now eagerly awaiting the day when the hatchlings fly from their unusual nesting spot.

Jerry Stewart, one of the directors at Eagle Couriers told how smokers a their Bathgate-based HQ were alerted when the tiny birds started darting in and out of the ashtray, which was installed in a brick-built bin storage area so smokers could enjoy some shelter.

He said: “One of our operations team, Richard McIntosh, was the first to see the birds and advised the rest of the smokers to stop using the ashtray while he phoned the RSPB.

Mumbai: The serious threat from the veterinary drug - diclofenac - to various species of vultures has been known for a long time. Research now shows that the killer drug seems to be preying upon other birds of prey too. A paper published today in the Cambridge University Press journal - Bird Conservation International – by scientists from BNHS-India, UK-based Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, has revealed that two Steppe Eagles found dead at a cattle carcass dump in Rajasthan had diclofenac residue in their tissues.

Steppe Eagles under threat

The recent findings based on the tests carried out on the bodies of the two Steppe Eagles found in Rajasthan showed the same clinical signs of kidney failure as seen in Gyps vultures after they had ingested diclofenac. Researchers have observed extensive visceral gout, lesions and uric acid deposits in the liver, kidney and spleen of the two birds and diclofenac residue in the tissues.

Steppe Eagle is a winter visitor to most areas in northern and central India and some areas in western and eastern India. It also feeds on carcass dumps. Other species of Aquila eagles that are known to frequent carcass dumps include Tawny Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Indian Spotted Eagle. Steppe Eagle is closely related to Golden Eagle found in the UK, the vulnerable Spanish Imperial Eagle and other globally vulnerable or declining Eurasian eagles. Scientists now fear that all species in this genus, known as Aquila, are susceptible to diclofenac. With fourteen species of Aquila eagles distributed across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America, this means that diclofenac poisoning should now be considered a global problem.

A new report has identified significant areas of New Zealand’s land and sea that require special consideration to protect the seabirds that depend on these places for their survival. The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, New Zealand’s largest independent conservation organisation, says the report – New Zealand Seabirds: Important Bird Areas and Conservation – has major implications for its government’s ongoing large-scale sell-off of deep sea oil and gas drilling rights.

The work is part of a global effort to identify where bird species live to ensure threatened species are adequately protected.

“New Zealand has an extraordinary wealth of seabirds,” says Seabird Advocate for Forest & Bird, Karen Baird. “More than one-third of the world’s seabird species live at least part of their lives in our Exclusive Economic Zone.

“New Zealand also has more seabird species that breed only within its jurisdiction than any other country in the world. We have 36 species. Mexico is next on the list, with only five species.

Birds have been visiting and pollinating flowers for at least 47 million years, fossil evidence now suggests. The new find pushes back the onset of ornithophily, or bird pollination, by about 17 million years, researchers say.

To pollinate, most species of angiosperms (flowering plants) require assistance from animals, particularly insects and birds. Though research suggests that insects have been pollinating flowers since the early Cretaceous period, over 100 million years ago, the onset of ornithophily has long remained elusive. Previously, fossils of modern-type hummingbirds suggested ornithophily began as early as 30 million years ago, but this conclusion was only inferred indirectly from the birds' long beaks and presumed hovering capabilities.

However, researchers have now analyzed a well-preserved, 47-million-year-old fossil of the extinct bird Pumiliornis tessellatus, and found that the animal's stomach contents contain numerous angiosperm pollen grains. The discovery is the first direct fossil evidence of flower visitation by birds, and suggests that ornithophily is far older than previously believed.

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Three kakapo chicks have made a rare public appearance in Arrowtown today, aiming to increase public awareness and fundraise for the endangered species.

The three chicks on display today came up from Invercargill as the kakapo population soars, from just 40 birds to 128, under a partnership between the Department of Conservation and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters.

Visitors in Arrowtown had to pay a gold coin donation to see the birds; any contribution counts.

One of the reasons so few kakapo are left is because the mothers have to work extremely hard to raise the chicks.

"She climbs to the top of some very tall rimu trees and forages for some very small rimu beries all night long, and then comes back down to the nest and feeds the chick," said Deidre Vercoe from the Department of Conservation.

After today's viewing the baby birds are headed to Whanua Hau, Codfish Island early next month for around four weeks.

The Ecuador Amazon (Amazona lilacina) was considered a subspecies of the red-lored Amazon (Amazona autumnalis).

While other subspecies of A. autumalis primarily live in lowland forests, the Ecuador Amazon parrot relied on mangroves and dry forest. This difference in habitat made researchers wonder if this was a different parrot species altogether.

Mark Pilgrim, the director general of Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, led a study of the Educador Amazon parrot, and determined it was its own separate species.

The red-lored Amazon has a population of 5 milllion, while the Ecuardor Amazon has as few as 600 members.

The new species, A. lilacina, will be officially announced in Spring 2014.

Good news: A new species of parrot has been discovered. The Ecuador Amazon parrot, or Lilacine Amazon parrot, once believed to be subspecies of the red-lored Amazon parrot (Amazona autumnalis), was discovered to be its own separate species by a team of researchers from the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom.

Bad news: With the discovery of the new species, researchers realized there were only around 600 left.

"I studied this particular parrot for my PhD,” said Mark Pilgrim, Chester Zoo director general and head of the study of the Ecuador Amazon parrot, in a latest field news report from the Chester Zoo, "and found sufficient evidence for the bird to be recognised as a species in its own right, a crucial step in getting some much needed protection. As you can imagine, this project is close to my heart — it’s estimated that there may be as few as 600 Ecuador Amazon parrots left in the wild but more work is needed to confirm this.”

The April stats are in for reported bird deaths at the Ivanpah solar power plant in the California desert, and it's bad news: 97 birds were found killed or mortally injured between April 1 and 29 at the nearly 4,000-acre plant in San Bernardino County south of Las Vegas.

That's a record number of reported deaths for the facility, though the increase may be at least partly a statistical artifact: sources tell ReWire that biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) were on site throughout April investigating wildlife mortality on the premises, likely leading to more stringent searches for injured wildlife.

But those searches still covered just 20 percent of the facility, meaning that one could reasonably extrapolate that total bird mortalities for April could be five times the official count. And that's not taking into account injured birds that land outside the fence, or are eaten by scavengers before survey crews can find them.

An egg mistakenly cracked by Charles Darwin is among the items in The Wonder of Birds exhibit. Photograph: Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery

It is an unassuming object, a smallish, strangely glossy brown egg, and it is broken because of the carelessness of the last person you would expect – Charles Darwin.

"He squashed it into too small a box and it cracked, unfortunately," said curator Francesca Vanke, explaining the state of the spotted tinamou egg going on display at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.

The object is the only known surviving egg from Darwin's HMS Beagle voyage during the 1830s. Probably drawn to its glossy sheen, Darwin signed it C. Darwin and brought it back to Britain after collecting it in Uruguay.

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Farmers who shoot pigeons and rooks to protect their crops should be ordered to consider and record alternative means of controlling them before resorting to the gun, the RSPB has told Natural England.

In its response to NE’s consultation over changes to the general licences under which pest bird species can be controlled, the charity also wants anyone who shoots birds to record and report on the numbers culled.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation yesterday responded to the suggestion by warning that farmers and those who shoot as part of crop protection measures could find themselves “strangled by bureaucracy.”

NE closed the issue to consultation on Monday. A spokesman told the Western Morning News there had been a significant level of response and it would be some months before recommendations for changing the licence were put to Defra for approval.

Graham Madge, spokesman for the RSPB wrote in a blog on the bird charity’s website that they opposed a number of changes put forward as part of NE’s consultation document, including a proposal that the nests of robins, pied wagtails and starlings could be destroyed if they posed a public health risk.

But the response from the RSPB likely to cause the biggest concern among the shooting community and farmers who grow crops vulnerable to bird attack will be on the right way to deal with pigeons, rooks and other pest species.

Mr Madge writes: “The level of killing is unregulated and unrecorded. Natural England are looking to explore a system of reporting and asked for views on whether this should be voluntary or mandatory. Experience suggests that only a compulsory system stands a chance of working.”

The Canadian Forces is halting a plan to keep pigeons and seagulls away from its brand-new station in St. John's after people who live in the adjacent residential neighbourhood raised a noise of their own.

Speakers on top of the Canadian Forces Station St. John's have been blasting the noises of predatory birds — such as hawks and owls — at the Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander W. Anthony Paddon Building, which is named for the late Labrador physician who served as the province's lieutenant-governor in the 1980s.

Residents in the nearby Pleasantville neighbourhood have been startled over the last week by the sounds, which they say have been repelling more than just nuisance birds.

"It's going 24-7. It started last Monday, and it hasn't stopped since," neighbour Kellie Rodgers.

"I know these machines exist and they have them at the airport, I know, and they have them at the dump, but this is a residential neighbourhood, and to have the noises going continuous like this is noise pollution, and it's not acceptable."

•BIRDS and their eggs have been at least incidental sources of food for humans since their origin and still are in most societies.

By Evans Nsende -

NON-birders may question why bird conservation is important and what difference it makes to the world at large.

Avid birders and bird watchers know, however, that bird and wildlife conservation is critical to the richness and diversity of the planet we share with more than 10,000 species of birds.

Birds are a diverse group, and their bright colours, distinct songs and calls, and showy displays add enjoyment to our lives.

Birds are very visible, quite common, and offer easy opportunities to observe their diverse plumage and behaviours.

Because of this, birds are popular to many who pursue wildlife watching and monitoring activities.

Birds are fun to watch zipping around the neighborhood or splashing in the bird bath, and their presence bolsters their ecosystems alongside our enjoyment.

They can play any number of roles in a given ecosystem, most of which fall into four main categories: provisioning, regulating, cultural enhancement and supporting services. Supporting services, for example, include tasks such as predation, pollination and seed dispersal.

Birds have been significant to human society in myriad ways.

Birds and their eggs have been at least incidental sources of food for humans since their origin and still are in most societies.

The eggs of some colonial seabirds, such as gulls, terns, and murres, or guillemots, and the young of some mutton-birds are even now harvested in large quantities.

Among other activities, the following are some of the major roles played by birds in the ecosystem and to man.

Agents of Dispersal

Seed dispersal is one of the most important aspects of birds’ roles in their ecosystems, especially since most birds can fly. Seed dispersal simply means the spreading of seeds beyond their immediate area. It is necessary for a number of reasons: The seeds may need to be transported great distances to increase the amount of gene flow in a species; they may need to be “airlifted” to reach potential new colonisation sites; or perhaps they need to be delivered to locations that are ideal for survival and early growth, such as the branch of a tree.

A pioneering study of bird communities in Galloway has recorded 29 species “of conservation importance” which are thriving on local land.

The report published by SNH this week looked at five areas situated between the edges of commercial conifer plantations and open moorland in the Galloway Forest Park.

The survey areas, owned by Forestry Commission Scotland, host shrubs with young trees and open ground, forming a moorland fringe which is home to many of the species.

Rob Soutar, Forest District manager, Galloway Forest District said: “The woodland fringe habitat we are creating is inspired and informed by natural treeline woodland and invigorated by this excellent research. This SNH report helps us improve our planting specifications and encourages us to expand this habitat throughout the Galloway Forest Park as a means to increase the range and number of bird species of conservation concern.”

Monday, 26 May 2014

For years the thousands of birds killed by smashing into glass buildings in the GTA have made headlines around the world. But what you might not know is that almost 40 per cent of the birds that collide with these buildings survive, says Michael Mesure, executive director of the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), a Toronto-based non-profit.

FLAP volunteers patrol the streets of downtown Toronto’s financial district twice a day, looking for dead or injured migratory birds. The injured birds are transported carefully in brown paper bags to the Toronto Wildlife Centre for treatment.

The centre is no stranger to seriously injured birds — they cared for nearly 700 of them in the last year alone.

HARPER'S FERRY, Iowa (AP) — Officials and bird lovers will gather later this month in northeast Iowa to officially designate the state's first "globally important bird area."

The Effigy Mounds-Yellow River Forest Bird Conservation Area will receive the designation May 31. The area includes 135,000 acres along the Mississippi River in Allamakee and Clayton counties, according to the Dubuque Telegraph Herald (http://bit.ly/1giFDtb ).

Much of the credit for the designation goes to Jon "Hawk Man" Stravers, who has spent years documenting that habitat and birds in the conservation area, which the Iowa Department of Natural Resources calls the "largest unfragmented forest remaining in Iowa."

Stravers has focused his study on the red-shouldered hawk and the cerulean warbler, a small bird with a buzzy chirp that winters in eastern Peru and southern Venezuela.

"It's one of the rarest birds in the U.S. and least understood," Stravers said of the warbler. "It's one that's missed a lot."

Great Britain-based BirdLife International and the National Audubon Society teamed up for the "globally important" area designation, which requires extensive documentation. It's intended to help protect critical habitat for declining bird species to nest or use when migrating.

The pet bird named Foresta had disappeared Tuesday from Tara's home in the Elkhorn Mountains near Montana City, but it was back in her arms Wednesday after it showed up at her school about 5 air miles away in Helena.

"This pigeon has never been to town before," Atkins' mother, Krys Holmes, said. "We got her as a baby, and she just hangs out at home."

The bird caused a ruckus when it arrived at Central-Linc Elementary, first sitting on teacher Rob Freistadt's head, the Independent Record reported (http://bit.ly/1tp0Gwt).

Staff members and a police officer tried for an hour to corral the bird that Principal Vanessa Nasset said was just "sky-bombing everyone."

Nasset asked Tara for help catching the bird after a parent remembered she had a pet pigeon.

Tara recognized Foresta by her distinct coloration and the blue band around her leg.